Wrapper



Dem 3o, 1969 R, mm-KE ET AL 3,4s66s1 WRAPPER Filed Jan I7 I4 l `2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ROBERT R.

RADTKE GEORGE B, ARVANIGIAN Byn/J ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1969 4R, R, RADTKEET AL lWRAPPER Filed Jan. 10, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 24 l I 2i FIG. 8 n34 UL INVENTORS 1' ROBERT R. RADTKE BYGEORGE B. ARVANIGIAN L" l '2'5k7/Q0 ATTORNEY U.S. Cl. 229-40 United States Patent 3,486,681 WRAPPERRobert R. Radtke, Howell, and George B. Arvanigian,

Portage, Mich., assignors to International Paper 'Company, New York,N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 10, 1969, Ser. No. 790,206Int. Cl. B65d 65/38, 75/26 19 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Awrapper for use in the shipment of variously shaped articles, e.g.,automotive fenders, which is cellulosic in nature and rectangular inconfiguration and which comprises (1) an essentially rigid, tubularsection having a plurality of transversely extending score lines and (2)an essentially flexible tubular section comprising two single facedsheets, unsecured to one another, which are extensions of the rigidsection and having at least one longitudinal line of severancepermitting said flexible section to`^be torn along said line, thusenabling it to be wrapped in close conformity to the contour of thearticle being packaged.

The present invention relates to a packaging material. Moreparticularly, it relates to a wrapper for use in the wrapping andshipment of irregularly shaped articles, such as automotive sheet metalparts.

Automotive sheet metal parts, such as fenders, bumpers, and doors areshipped either by truck or rail. The wrapping materials which haveheretofore been employed did not conform to the contour of the partbeing shipped since an essentially rigid wrapper construction wasemployed. Thus, the bandings or straps that were ultimately placed aboutthe wrappervwould not hold the part tightly within the wrapper. As aresult, the wrapper would become slack, permitting movement of the partwithin the wrapper and resulting in extensive damage during shipment ifthe part fell out of the wrapper. The wrapper of the present inventionobviates these difficulties and is, also, quite economical to produce.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel wrappingmaterial.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a wrappingmaterial for articles of varied configuration, such as automotive sheetmetal parts.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a wrappingmaterial which is entirely cellulosic in nature and which ischaracterized by a unitary wrapper having both rigid and flexiblesections.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anessentially rectangularly-shaped, cellulosic wrapping material which hasa flexible section and, integral therewith, a rigid section, theflexible section conforming closely to a portion of the contour of thearticle and the rigid section providing suicient strength, so as toenable the wrapper and its contents to withstand all shipping andhandling conditions to which it will be subjected.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an open-endedwrapper for wrapping automobile fenders having an essentially exibletubular section and an essentially rigid tubular section. l

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.

FIG. l is a plan view of the wrapper blank of the instant invention withan automobile fender shown disposed thereon.

3,486,681 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 FIG. 2 is an exaggerated view takenalong the line of 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exaggerated view taken along the line of 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exaggerated view taken along the line 4 4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the wrapper blank of the presentinvention after a folding operation.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view after another folding operation.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the wrapper after the completion of thefolding operations.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the wrapper standing on end.

FIG. 1 depicts the unitary wrapper blank of the present invention whichis essentially rectangular in shape and which is generally indicated bythe numeral 10. It consist's of two major sections; namely, anessentially or substantially rigid section 11 and an essentially orsubstantially flexible section 12.

It is to be understood that, when reference is made to liners,corrugated mediums, and facing sheets, throughout the instantapplication that they may be made from any of a'variety of cellulosicmaterials. It is preferred, however to employ kraft paper materials fromthe standpoint of both practicality and economy.

As can be seen by reference to the various figures, the rigid section 11comprises an inner monoplanar liner 13, the inner face of which issecured by an adhesive, e.g., starch adhesive, to the flutes of anunderlying first portion of one surface of a first corrugated medium 14.The flutes on the other surface of said first portion of said firstcorrugated medium 14 are, in turn, adhesively secured to one face of afirst portion of a centrall monoplanar liner 15.

r The other or lower face of said rst portion of said central liner 15is secured to the flutes of a rst portion of one surface of a secondcorrugated medium 16. The flutes of the other surface of said firstportion of said corrugated medium 16 are, in turn, secured to the innerface of a first portion of an outer monoplanar liner or facing material17. This type of construction is conventionally referred to asdouble-wall construction. This double-wall construction extends to aninner longitudinal edge 18 of inner hner 13, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

Thus, the boundaries of the rigid section 11 of blank 10 are defined bya longitudinal edge or side 19, upper and lower transverse edge or sideportions 20 and 21, respectively, of blank 10, and longitudinal edge 18of inner liner 13.

The corrugated mediums 14 and 16 and the central and outer liners 15 and17 have the same longitudinal and transverse dimensions and, naturally,the same perimeters. The longitudinal dimension of the inner monoplanarliner 13 is equal to the longitudinal dimension of liners 15 and 17 andmediums 14 and 16. Its transverse dmension is, however, considerablyless than that of the aforesaid liners and mediums. It should beunderstood, however, that the width, i.e., transverse dimension, ofinner lin/er 13 is equal to the widths, i.e., transverse dimensions, ofthe first portions of the aforesaid liners and mediums to which it issecured so as to form the rigid section 11. Thus, the adhesivesecurement of inner liner 13, of reduced transverse dimension, to only asegment of the blank 10, results in the formation of the double-wallrigid section 11, the outer boundary of which is edge 18 of inner liner13.

Although it is preferred to employ a double-wal construction for therigid section 11, single-wall construction can also be used. Insingle-wall construction, a corrugated medium is secured to, orsandwiched between, inner and outer liners. In addition, triple-wal1 ormultiple-wall constructions can also be employed. Should it be desiredto employ a triple-wall construction, for example, another corrugatedmedium and an additional liner would, naturally, be employed.

Rigid section 11 has a plurality of transversely extending score lines22, which facilitate the folding of the rigid section 11 when it iswrapped about the article or object being packaged. Rigid section 11also has a longitudinally extending slit-score 23 which is disposedinwardly from, and adjacent to, the longitudinal edge 19 of rigidsection 11. When the blank is erected to form an irregularly shaped,tubular, open-ended wrapper 24, in accordance with the instantinvention, the rigid section 11 of blank 10 is folded inwardly aboutslit-score 23 to form a flange containing means or element 25,' as shownin FIG. 5. Flange 25 engages an edge of the article and prevents thearticle from falling out of the wrapper 24 while being shipped or storedon its end, as illustrated in FIG. 8. A detailed discussion of thefolding operations and their sequence will be discussed hereinafter.

As can be seen by reference to FIG. 4, the doublewall constructionterminates at edge 18 of rigid section 11. Beginning at longitudinaledge 18 of inner liner 13 the flexible section 12 commences. Theflexible section 12 comprises l) a second portion of first corrugatedmedium 14 (which is a unitary continuous extension of the first portionof said medium) secured to a second portion of central monoplanar liner15 (which is a unitary continuous extension of the first portion of saidliner), thus forming a first discrete single faced sheet 26, and (2) asecond portion of second corrugated medium 16 (which is a unitarycontinuous extension of the first portion of said medium) secured to asecond portion of outer monoplanar liner 17 (which is a unitarycontinuous extension of the first portion of said liner), thus forming asecond discrete single faced sheet 27. Thus, the first single facedsheet 26 and the second single faced sheet 27 are discrete, albeitintegral, continuous extensions of the corrugated mediums and the outerand central liners cornprising rigid section 11. The first sheet 26 andthe second sheet 27 are neither attached or secured to each other, byany means whatever, at any point along their respective surfaces, as isevident from FIG. 4. That these single faced sheets are not securedtogether in any fashion, is one reason why flexible section 12 is asflexible as it is. In addition, the termination of inner monoplanarliner 13 at edge 18 also adds to the flexibility of section 12. Thus,the ability of the flexible section 12 to conform closely to the shapeor contour of the article being wrapped results from having the singlefaced sheets 26 and 27 in no way connected to one another and not havinginner monoplanar liner 13 extend to, and secure to, the second portionof said first corrugated medium 14.

The boundaries of the flexible section 12 are defined by an outerlongitudinal edge or side 28 of wrapper blank 10 and longitudinal edge18 of inner liner 13, and by upper and lower transverse edge or sideportions 29 and 30, respectively, of blank 10.

While the flexible section 12 of the present invention has beendescribed as consisting of two, discrete single faced sheets, it is notto be considered as limited thereto. Since the number of single facedsheets which can be employed in accordance with the present invention isonly dependent upon, and limited by, the number of mediums or Wallsemployed in the construction of the rigid section, if the rigid sectionwas of single-wall construction, for example, there would be, naturally,one discrete single faced sheet in the flexible section. In the samefashion, if triple-wall construction is employed in the rigid section,there will be, naturally, three discrete single faced sheets.

The first sheet 26 and the second sheet 27 of flexible section 12 areeach provided with a line of severance, which is preferably a perforatedline 31, which are in alignment or registry with one another. Whilesheets 26 and 27 of the flexible section 12 of the wrapper 24 have beenillustrated with only a single line of severance, they can be providedwith two or more spaced lines of severance depending upon the ultimateuse for wrapper 24. In addition, while it is preferred that the lines ofseverance be in registry with one another, it may in certain instancesprove desirable that they not be in alignment.

AS can be seen most clearly by reference to FIGS. l and 5, an automobilefender 32 is placed upon the blank 10 so that one portion of the fenderoverlies the rigid section 11 while the remaining portion of the fenderoverlies the flexible section 12. The rigid section 11 of the vblank 10is then folded inwardly about slit-score 23 to form the flange 25 whichengages an edge of fender 32. The flexible section 12 of the wrapper 24is then severed or torn along line of severance 31 (disposed in sheets26 and 27) until this major segment of flexible section 12 contacts theWheel-well portion of fender 32 and is folded over fender 32. Next, theentire upper portion of the blank 10 (namely, that portion which isdisposed above fender 32 and which includes the rigid section 11 and theflexible section 12) is folded into overlying face-to-face contact withthe previously foldedover portion of outer liner 17 of flexible section12. A first securing means 33, which is preferably a steel strap orband, but may be made of plastic (e.g., polypropylene), secures theflexible section 12 in close conformity about a portion of the contourof the fender 32. Then, that portion of blank 10-which is to the left ofthe torn line of severance 31 and beneath the still unwrapped portion offender 32, and which includes rigid section 11 and that segment offlexible section 12 extending from edge 18 to the edge of perforation31-is folded over the remainder of fender 32 and into overlying,face-contacting relation with outer line1 17. A second securing means 34is then placed about this section of the wrapper. The completed wrapper,as may be seen by reference to FIG. 7, is open at each end and has anessentially twin tube configuration. Referring to FIG. 8, theessentially flexible tubular section, i.e., upper tubular section, whichcomprises the major portion of the flexible section, has a smallercircumference than the essentially rigid tubular section, i.e., lowertubular section, which comprises the rigid section plus the minorsegment of the flexible section immediately adjacent the severed line ofperforation.

During shipment or storage the wrapper with the contained fender isstored on its end, as is illustrated in FIG. 8.

The flexible portion of the wrapper closely conforms to the shape of thefender and is held taut against slackening by the provision of theaforementioned securing means. While the invention has been described inrelation to an automobile fender, this has been done only as a matter ofconvenience in describing the invention. The invention has applicationto a variety of objects, both within and without the automotiveindustry. Exemplary of other articles which can be packaged inaccordance with the present invention are automobile doors, automobilebumpers, pieces of sheet metal, etc,

Thus, it is apparent that the instant wrapper provides a number ofadvantages over the devices of the prior art. The flexible portion ofthe wrapper conforms to the contour of the fender which prevents thesecuring means, i.e., bands or straps, from slackening and allowingmovement Within the wrapper and resultant damage. The double-wallsection of the wrapper provides the necessary rigidity and the flangecontaining means prevents the fender from sliding out of the wrapperwhen placed on end.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of thewrapper of the present invention may be made and substituted for thoseherein shown and described, Without departing from the nature andprinciple of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A unitary, essentially rectangular blank designed to be folded into awrapper for the packaging of articles of varied configuration, whichcomprises:

(a) said blank being divided into two sections, namely, an essentiallyrigid section and an essentially flexible section;

(b) said rigid section comprising,

(i) a first portion of an outer monoplanar liner secured to a firstportion of a corrugated medium,

(ii) an inner monoplanar liner secured in overlying relationship to saidfirst portion of said corrugated medium;

(c) said flexible section comprising,

(i) a second portion of said outer monoplanar liner secured to a secondportion of said corrugated medium,

(ii) said second portions of said outer liner and of said corrugatedmedium defining a flexible, single faced sheet;

(d) said first portions of said corrugated medium and of said outerliner in said rigid section being integral, continuous extensions of thesecond portions of the outer liner and of the corrugated medium whichdefine the single faced sheet of said flexible section;

(e) said flexible section consisting of said single faced sheet havingat least one longitudinally extending line of severance whereby saidflexible section may be severed along said line of severance so that amajor segment of said flexible section adjacent said severed line willclosely conform to the contour of a portion of the article when saidwrapper is erected from said blank.

2. The blank as recited in claim 1 wherein said rigid section has alongitudinally extending slit-score disposed inwardly from and adjacentto an outer longitudinal edge of said rigid section of said blankwhereby when said rigid section of said blank is folded inwardly aboutsaid slit-score during the erection of said wrapper from said blank aflange containing means is formed which engages an edge of said wrappedarticle which prevents the article from falling out of the erectedwrapper.

3. The blank as recited in claim 1 wherein said rigid section has aplurality of transversely extending score lines.

4. The blank as recited in claim 1 wherein said inner monoplanar linerhas the same longitudinal dimensions as said corrugated medium and saidouter monoplanar liner and a lesser transverse dimension, thus definingthe boundary of said essentially rigid section.

5. A unitary, essentially rectangular blank designed to be folded into awrapper for the packaging of articles of varied configuration, whichcomprises:

\ (a) said blank being divided into two sections, namely, an essentiallyrigid section and an essentially flexible section;

(b) said rigid section comprising,

(i) an inner monoplanar liner secured to one surface of a first portionof a first corrugated medium,

(ii) one face of a first portion of a central monoplanar liner securedto the other surface of said first portion of said first corrugatedmedium and having secured thereto on its other face one surface of afirst portion of a second corrugated medium,

(iii) one face of a first portion of an outer monoplanar liner securedto the other surface of said first portion of said second corrugatedmedium;

(c) said flexible section comprising,

(i) a second portion of said central monoplanar liner secured to asecond portion of said first corrugated medium, said second portions ofsaid central liner and of said first corrugated medium defining a firstflexible single faced sheet,

(ii) a second portion ofl said outer monoplanar liner secured to asecond portion of said second corrugated medium, said second portions ofsaid outer liner and of said second corrugated medium defining a secondflexible single faced sheet,

(iii) said first single faced sheet being in overlying unsecuredrelationship with respect to said second single faced sheet,

(iv) said unsecured first and second single faced sheets defining saidflexible section of said blank;

(d) said first portions of said first and second corrugated mediums andof said outer and central monoplanar liners in said rigid section beingintegral, continuous extensions of the second portions of said first andsecond corrugated mediums and of said central and outer monoplanarliners which define the first and second single faced sheets of saidflexible section;

(e) each of said first and second single faced sheets having at leastone longitudinally extending line of severance whereby said flexiblesection may be severed along said line of severance so that a majorsegment of said flexible section adjacent said severed line will closelyconform to the contour of the article when said wrapper is erected fromsaid blank.

6. The blank as recited in claim 5 wherein said lines of severance insaid first and second single faced sheets are in alignment with oneanother.

7. The blank as recited in claim 5 wherein said rigid section has alongitudinally extending slit-score disposed inwardly from and adjacentto an outer longitudinal edge of said rigid section of said blankwhereby when said rigid section of said blank is folded inwardly aboutsaid slitscore during the erection of said wrapper from said blank aflange containing means is formed which engages an edge of said articlewhich prevents the article from falling out of the erected wrapper.

8. The blank as recited in claim 5 wherein said rigid section has aplurality of transversely extending score lines.

9. The blank as recited in claim 5 wherein said inner monoplanar linerhas the same longitudinal dimensions as said first and second corrugatedmediums and said outer and central monoplanar liners and a lessertransverse dimension, thus defining the boundary of said essentiallyrigid section.

10. An open-ended wrapper designed to contain articles of variedconfiguration, such as automobile fenders and the like, which comprises:

(a) an essentially rigid tubular section comprising a portion of anouter monoplanar liner secured to a portion of a corrugated medium, aninner rnonoplanar liner secured in overlying relationship to saidportion of said corrugated medium, said rigid tubular section beingwrapped about a portion of said article;

(b) an essentially flexible tubular section comprising continuousintegral extensions of said portions of said outer monoplanar liner andof said corrugated medium in said rigid section, said extensions of saidliner and of said medium being secured together to form a single facedsheet, said flexible tubular section being wrapped about the remainingportion of the article and closely conforming to the contour thereof;

(c) said rigid tubular section having a flange containing means disposedinwardly of said rigid section and engaging an edge of said article.

11. The wrapper as recited in claim 10 wherein at least one securingmeans is bound about each of said tubular sections.

12. The wrapper as recited in claim 10 wherein said flange containingmeans is formed adjacent the outer longitudinal edge of the rigidsection of said wrapper by folding a segment of said rigid sectioninwardly about a longitudinally extending slit-score provided in saidrigid section.

13. The Wrapper as recited in claim 10 wherein said rigid section ofsaid wrapper is provided with a plurality of transversely extendingscore lines.

14. The wrapper as recited in claim 10 wherein said single faced sheethas at least one longitudinally extending line of severance whereby saidsingle faced sheet may be severed along said line thus enabling a majorsegment of said flexible single faced sheet to conform closely to thecontour of the remaining portion of the article.

1S. An open-ended wrapper designed to contain articles of variedconfiguration, such as automobile fenders and the like, which comprises:

(a) an essentially rigid tubular section comprising an inner monoplanarliner secured to one surface of a portion of a rst corrugated medium, aportion of one face of a central monoplanar liner secured to the othersurface of said lirst corrugated medium and having secured thereto onits other face one surface of a portion of a second corrugated medium,one face of an outer monoplanar liner secured to the other surface ofsaid portion of said second corrugated medium, said rigid tubularsection being wrapped about a portion of said article;

(b) an essentially exible tubular section comprising continuous integralextensions of said portions of said central monoplanar liner secured tosaid first corrugated medium thereby forming a lirst single faced sheetand of said outer monoplanar liner secured to said second corrugatedmedium thereby forming a second single faced sheet, said first singlefaced sheet being in overlying unsecured relationship with respect tosaid second single faced sheet, said exible tubular section beingwrapped about the remaining portion of the article and closelyconforming to the contour thereof;

(c) said rigid tubular section having a flange containing means disposedinwardly of said rigid section and engaging an edge of said article.

16. The wrapper as recited in claim 15 wherein at least one securingmeans is bound about each of said tubular sections.

17. The wrapper as recited in claim 15 wherein said ange containingmeans is formed adjacent the outer 1ongitudinal edge of the rigidsection of said Wrapper by folding a segment of said rigid sectioninwardly about a longitudinally extending slit-score provided in saidrigid section.

1S. The wrapper as recited in claim 15 wherein said rigid section ofsaid wrapper is provided with a plurality of transversely extendingscore lines.

19. The wrapper as recited in claim 15 wherein each of said first andsecond single faced sheets have at least one longitudinally extendingline of severance which are in alignment with one another whereby saidsingle faced sheets may be severed along said line thus enabling a majorsegment of each of said single faced sheets to conform closely to thecontour of the remaining portion of the article.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,551,374 5/1951 Hansen 229%872,807,356 9/1957 Blum 206-46 3,235,070 2/1966 Cutty 206-65 DAVID M.BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 206-46; 229--87

